Tides of Red
by BigChef
Summary: The Helghast have invaded Vekta, triggering the Second Extrasolar War. A squad of special forces soldiers, led by Captain Hawkins, must fight and try to survive the conflict. From pushing the Helghast off Vekta to fighting in the streets of Pyrrhus city on the hellish world of Helghan, Hawkins and his squad must adapt, overcome, and kill to make it out alive.
1. The Streets of Vekta

Lieutenant Nolan ducked just in time as another shell impacted the area in front of the barricade, sending shrapnel flying through the air. He had been lucky to dodge it, unlike his radio-man. A jagged strip of metal caught his radio operator in the neck and severed his jugular. He fell to the ground with a sickening gurgle as he choked on his own blood.

"Damnit!" Nolan shouted, reaching over and grabbing the dead soldier's vest and dragging him closer; he snatched the radio's microphone.

"Saber-main this is Saber-2, over!" He yelled into mic, barely able to hear his own voice over the gunfire all around. There was no response so Nolan shouldered his rifle, popped up over the barricade, and squeezed off a few rounds at the advancing Helghast; he hit one center mass and the mask-wearing soldier fell over dead. He took aim at another enemy, but before he could get any more shots off a burst of well-aimed machinegun fire forced him to take cover. Nolan cursed and grabbed the radio again.

"Saber-main this is Saber-2, come in, over!" He shouted angrily. He ducked instinctively as another explosion shook the ground underneath him. The trembling faded after a few seconds and Nolan took the time look at his men; they were ragged and beat to hell. Most of them had gunshot wounds, and some were even missing limbs – Nolan himself had a splinter of shrapnel embedded in his thigh – but they fought on courageously. They were trying to hold this position but they were vastly out-manned and out-gunned. While they were holding them for the time being, the Helghast were slowing but inevitably flanking them. They were already taking fire from three sides and it was only a matter of time before they were completely surrounded. The situation was beginning to look hopeless, but Nolan swore he would be damned before he surrendered.

"Jones!" He shouted, trying to be heard above the cacophony of battle.

"Sir?!" A soldier yelled in response. Nolan turned and saw Jones a few meters to his right, laying down suppressive fire on their left flank.

"We need that gun up front!" He ordered, motioning for Jones to come to his position.

"Yes sir!" Jones answered, pulling away from his firing position and running over to Nolan, keeping his head down. He threw his machinegun up on the barricade and pulled down hard on the trigger, throwing a barrage of lead towards the oncoming Helghast. Nolan slammed a fresh magazine into his rifle and joined Jones. It was hard to miss at this distance, the enemy was barely more than fifty meters away, and Nolan easily shot down a handful of them.

His rifle clicked empty and he took cover again to reload. As he did so, Nolan heard the radio crackle to life; he quickly grabbed the receiver and put it to his ear.

"Saber-2 this is Saber-main, over." A calm voice came over the radio.

"It's about damn time!" Nolan said to himself, exasperated. He picked up the mic to reply.

"Saber-main we are getting our asses kicked out here, the Helghast are maneuvering around us and we'll be cut off in a few minutes! Half of my men are dead and so will the rest if we don't get support, now!"

There were a few moments of silence as Nolan waited impatiently for a reply.

"Uhh…copy that Saber-2, we'll see what we can do." The monotone voice answered placidly, "Standby for further information."

"Shit!" Nolan hissed and hung the radio back up, frustrated; if they didn't get help this instant they were as good as dead. Next to him, Jones was still firing away on his machinegun, the brass casings raining down and forming a small mountain of shells. Nolan was about to stand back up and return fire when the radio lit up again, signaling an incoming message; he hastily grabbed the receiver.

"Saber-2, we're dispatching an SF unit, call sign Tempest, to your position. They'll be entering your AO momentarily, over."

"Roger that Saber-main, Saber-2 out." Nolan said, hanging up the mic. Jones suddenly collapsed next to him, a bloody mess where his face had been. Nolan cursed again, grabbed the soldier next to him, and told him to man the LMG in Jones' place.

_We can't take this much longer_. Nolan thought to himself. He slid another magazine into his weapon and popped up over the barricade.

* * *

"This is it." The pilot's voice came through the headset, "Right below us."

Captain Hawkins was sitting at door of the drop ship, his legs dangling over the edge into thin air. He grabbed the support bar, leaned forward, and peered over the edge, observing the scene on the ground. The ISA platoon they had come to rescue was almost completely surrounded – the entire area was swarming with Helghast soldiers. The ISA were holed up in the ruins of a bombed out building. It was a good defensive position, as evidenced by the numerous dead enemy fighters, but the Helghast were determined and were battering down the ISA with sheer numbers and volume of firepower. Tracers and missile contrails streaked through the air as both sides fought furiously, but it was clear that the ISA were at a disadvantage.

"It doesn't look too pretty down there." Vera said, appearing next to Hawkins and watching the battle play out below.

"It never does." Hawkins said, "But we're going down there regardless; we won't leave them to be massacred."

"Well then let's get to it then, shall we?" Vera replied. Hawkins nodded in agreement and looked over at Vera. He thought he detected a hint of sarcasm in her voice, but the helmet covering her face betrayed no emotion and he couldn't be sure. He decided to ignore it.

"Pilot." Hawkins said over his suit's built in radio, "Put us on the roof of that building there, on the north side of the square." The building he was talking about was several stories tall, and the Helghast had fortified it with multiple gun emplacements that were raining hell down on the ISA forces; they had to take out those guns first before they could inflict anymore casualties.

"Affirmative." The pilot's dry voice came over the radio, "I see it, taking us down now." The drop ship broke its holding pattern over the battlefield and began its descent.

Hawkins turned away from the door to face his squad. He saw they were busy going through last minute weapons and equipment checks, double checking to make sure everything was good to go. Hawkins looked at each of them in turn.

To his right was First Lieutenant Vera, his second-in-command. They had been serving together for years and in that time they had developed a close friendship. Even though he had a few years experience on her, Vera was shrewd and resourceful and Hawkins had grown to rely on her intuition and advice. As a squad mate and a trusted friend, Vera was irreplaceable.

Next was Second Lieutenant Aszmann, their squad's qualified sharpshooter. Back in sniper school, Aszmann had excelled above his peers and graduated top of class. After that, he had been assigned to this squad. That had been almost a year ago and since then Aszmann had become an invaluable asset to their team.

Next to Aszmann sat the bulky Staff Sergeant Reeves. Reeves was a grizzled old NCO and didn't talk much, but he always got the job done. He was the team sapper and there was no door, wall, or stronghold that he couldn't breach.

Next came Second Lieutenant Mavik. While Mavik seemed to lean towards the more timid side when they were off-duty, during combat he was the most stalwart and fearless man Hawkins had ever fought with. Mavik was a stellar, dependable soldier and a fine asset to their team.

Lastly there was Cadet Griffin. Being the age of twenty-one, she was youngest member of the group. She had been assigned to the unit as Vera's student and it was Vera's job to train Griffin and forge her into a officer capable of leadership. Griffin was a friendly, lively girl and Vera, along with the rest of team, had quickly taken a liking to her. In the few months she had been in their unit, Griffin and Vera had become inseparable friends. While Griffin was an intelligent and able soldier, she was still a little too inexperienced, idealistic, and impulsive at times for Hawkins' liking. Vera vouched for the girl, however, and he supposed that if Vera trusted Griffin, he could too. In any case he still considered Griffin, and the rest of the squad, as family.

"Okay people." Hawkins said, "Let's do a quick comms check in sequence – go."

"Vera, up."

"Aszmann, up."

"Reeves, up."

"Mavik, up."

"Griffin, up."

"Hawkins…up." He said, the last one, "Alright, here's the plan: we're going to take this building that the Helghast are using as a strong point. We're landing on the roof; I want a clean sweep, top to bottom, of the entire structure. Once the 'all clear' is given, we're going to use their weapons and take out the Helghast assaulting the ISA position." Hawkins finsished, "Any questions?"

"No, sir." Replied Griffin, "Sounds simple enough."

"Good." Hawkins said, "Now stay sharp, watch your corners and each other' backs – let's get it done." He turned back around, facing out the door once again. He didn't need to say much more, his team knew what to do.

"Disembark in ten…nine…eight…" The pilot began to count down. The drop ship's engines whined as they reversed directions, slowing the craft down as it approached the roof of the building.

"Seven…six…five…"

Hawkins watched as the roof came closer and closer. The ship wasn't actually going to land; they were going to be jumping. Hawkins prepared himself to leap as the rest of his squad lined up behind him, ready to follow.

"Three…two…"

Hawkins pushed himself off the ledge and fell the remaining distance to the roof. He landed, knees bent, and then quickly moved out of the way as the rest of the squad dropped behind him. Once everyone had dismounted, they moved swiftly to the roof access door and stacked up – Hawkins taking point, Reeves taking position as the doorman.

"Last man ready." Mavik called out, letting Hawkins know that everyone was prepared to enter. Hawkins looked across the doorway at Reeves and nodded. Reeves nodded back and stepped out in front of the door; the hinges broke and the wood splintered under the force of his kick.

Hawkins rushed through the doorway, knowing that the squad was right on his back. He went down the flight of stairs, weapon at the ready. He reached the bottom and proceeded through the doorway. He hooked left and the person behind him went right; the floor was empty. Hawkins moved back to the staircase and they went down another level. As they descended, the sound of machinegun and rifle fire became louder; there were definitely Helghast on this floor.

Hawkins passed through the doorway and went left again. Immediately and without hesitation, he put a bullet in the head of the first Hig that came into his crosshairs – his head jerked back and his brain matter splattered the wall as Hawkins let out a burst. Behind him he could hear the deafening reports of more gunshots, the enclosed space amplifying the sound waves, as his squad opened fire on the unaware Helghast. A soldier manning an HMG turned to see what the noise was; Hawkins put three bullets in his chest before he even knew what was going on. They killed everyone in a matter of seconds.

"Right side clear." Said Reeves.

"Left side clear." Hawkins said, "Move on to the next floor."

They swept through the rest of the building in much the same fashion, efficient and deadly. The sounds of the battle raging outside were too loud for the Helghast to hear was going on and each floor was as surprised as the previous whenever Hawkins' squad came in; it was a massacre. From when they touched down on the roof to when they had killed the last Hig, it had only taken them three and half minutes to clear seven floors.

Hawkins looked around: the floor was littered with dead Helghast, "All clear."

Hawkins walked over to the window and looked out; the ISA were still alive, but they were quickly running out of time. The Helghast were still pushing their assault and they were about to break the ISA lines – they needed to hurry, it wouldn't be long until the enemy noticed that their guns had stopped firing.

"Griffin, Mavik, with me!" Hawkins ordered, "Vera, take Reeves and Azsmann and cover the entrances; make sure no one gets in to surprise us!"

"Roger sir!" Vera confirmed, taking off with Reeves and Azsmann to secure the building.

"Griffin, Mavik; find the nearest Hig machinegun and open fire on those bastards!" Hawkins commanded as he ran to one of the gun emplacements. He set his rifle down against the wall and pulled off the dead Helghast soldier that was slumped on top of the weapon. Hawkins racked the bolt and swiveled the barrel down, setting the sights on the oblivious Higs below. The weapon roared to life as he yanked the trigger, sending a hail of bullets down upon the Helghast.

Immediate chaos ensued as the Helghast infantry quickly realized they were caught in a crossfire – they were taking fire from both sides and had nowhere to run or take cover. The remaining ISA forces, noticing what was going on, let loose with everything they had left; Hawkins heard the rattle of more machineguns as Griffin and Mavik opened fire. Hawkins didn't relent and kept the trigger depressed, the gun spitting out ammunition at a blistering rate, the large caliber rounds ripping through the Helghast soldiers with terrifying ease; they scrambled, trying to find a place to escape, but to no avail. Hawkins swung the HMG back and forth, raking the entire area with bullets until he ran out of ammo. Smoke drifted up from the glowing red barrel as he let go of the weapon and looked out at the carnage they had created.

They had decimated the Helghast. The one hundred or so that had been out there had been slaughtered, their bodies strewn about amongst the rubble. There were still a few alive, however, crawling weakly or rolling in pain on the blood stained ground – Hawkins grabbed his rifle and finished them off, the gunshots rang out loudly in now quiet battleground.

"Good work team." Hawkins said, lowering his weapon, over the radio, "Let's go meet up with – Shit!" Hawkins exclaimed.

An enemy tank smashed through a nearby wall, not more than fifty meters from where the ISA troops were positioned.

"Zephyr-1, come in Zephyr-1!" Hawkins said hastily, trying to raise their pilot.

"Tempest this is Zephyr-1, over." Came the immediate response.

"Zephyr we have enemy armor on the scene!" Hawkins informed him. He saw the tank's turret begin to traverse, the cannon turning to face the ISA's holdout, "We need air support, now!"

"Roger that Tempest, I see him." The pilot answered, "Commencing strafing run now."

But it was too late.

The earth shook as the tank's main gun fired, a plume of fire erupting from the barrel as the high velocity shell was propelled at supersonic speed through the air. The shell detonated right in the center of the ISA fortifications, blasting apart what was left of the building. Before the echoes of the explosion had even faded, the tank was blown to pieces as Zephyr-1 opened fire. The ship's anti-armor cannon easily penetrated the tank's hull, igniting fuels lines and hitting ammunition compartments. The Helghast tank exploded with a shriek of twisting and ripping metal – Zephyr-1 pulled up out of its attack run, the vehicle now just a mess of tangled steel, fire, and oily smoke.

"Oh no…" He heard Griffin say softly over the radio. Hawkins closed his eyes and sighed.

"Okay people." He said quietly, looking at where the ISA had been – he didn't see any movement, "Let's get down there and search for survivors."

* * *

"Holy shit." Nolan coughed, rolling over on his side. He quickly checked himself, making sure all his body parts were intact – except for the ringing in his ears he seemed to be in good shape considering he had just been blown up. He sat up and dusted himself off. He looked around but didn't see any of his men; not living ones anyway.

"Hello?" He called out, "Is there anyone left?"

"Here…sir." A weak voice answered. Nolan crawled over the where he thought it was coming from.

"Over here, sir."

Nolan looked to his left and saw Tipton, one of his newest soldiers, sitting down with his back against an ammo crate.

"How are you holding up soldier?" Nolan asked moving over next to him. He looked him over: he had a gash on his forehead, and one of his legs was bent in the wrong direction.

"I'm fine sir, but – but I don't think I can move my legs." He said through clenched teeth, obviously in pain.

"Don't try then, just sit tight." Nolan patted him on the shoulder, "We'll get you out of here."

"Sir, I've got two live ones over here!" A female voice sounded behind him.

Nolan looked over his shoulder him to see a figure clad in black armor running towards him. The suit was sleek and form fitting and bore no markings save for a small, white sword decal on the chest plate.

"So you must be the special forces unit sent to help us." Nolan observed as the solider reached him and kneeled by his side, "Your timing couldn't have been better. I'm Lieutenant Nolan, leader of this platoon."

"Cadet Griffin, sir." She said quickly and politely, introducing herself, "Are you alright?" She asked anxiously.

"I'm fine." He said.

"But sir, your leg –"

"I'm fine." He repeated, "My men need more help than I do." He gestured to Tipton.

"Of course sir!" Griffin moved over to the wounded soldier and began attending to his injuries.

"Lieutenant Nolan." An authoritative voice called out behind him. Nolan turned to see who it was and saw a group of SF soldiers approaching, "I'm Captain Hawkins." Nolan forced himself to stand and limped over to meet him.

"Pleased to meet you captain." He said, shaking Hawkins' hand as he offered it. "If it weren't for you and your team we'd all be dead for sure."

"Truth be told, we thought you had all been killed in that explosion." Hawkins admitted, "I'm glad some of you made it out alive."

"Yes, I'm surprised that I faired so well; I wish I could say the same for my men." Nolan said regretfully, motioning to all the dead soldiers around them, "Regardless, you have my thanks."

"Don't thank me yet." Hawkins replied, "Our pilot informed me that there is a sizable force of Helghast converging on our position as we speak. There's a plaza about 2 kilometers south of here where our extraction is waiting – we need to leave now.

Griffin finished bandaging Tipton's head wound and looked up, "What about all these bodies? We can't just leave them here to rot, sir."

"We can, and we are." Hawkins said tersely.

Griffin stood up and faced him, "We're not supposed to leave fallen comrades!"

"Griffin, we can't – " He began, an edge creeping into his voice, but she cut him off before he could finish.

"But sir! I – "

"Stand down, cadet!" Vera commanded, stepping in-between Griffin and the captain.

Griffin hesitated for a moment and then sighed in defeat, "Y...yes ma'am." She mumbled, hanging her head dejectedly.

Vera placed a hand on the cadet's shoulder, "We'll come back for them Griffin, after this is all over, okay?" She told her, softening her tone.

Griffin merely nodded in response and remained silent.

"Sir?" Aszmann said, walking up to the group, "We really should be going now, we haven't much time before the Helghast will be upon us."

"Right." Hawkins raised his voice for everyone to hear, "We're moving out, the LZ's not far."

"What about Tipton?" Nolan asked, "He can't walk."

"I got him." Griffin offered, picking up the wounded soldier and putting his arm around her shoulder for support. Tipton winced in pain as she did so, but thanked her for the help.

"No problem." She replied, then looked at Hawkins, "Ready."

"Let's go!" Hawkins ordered, taking off at a quick jog south towards the plaza.

* * *

They moved quickly through the city streets with the wounded soldiers, five of them total, in the center of the formation. Hawkins was in the rear urging them to on as fast as possible, but the injured men were slowing them down significantly.

"Come on, let's move it people!" He called out, "Not much further now!" Suddenly, a bullet smacked into the concrete at his feet and he looked back to see a pair of Helghast soldiers leveling their rifles at him. Hawkins snapped up his weapon and took them down before they could get any more shots off.

_Damn! _He thought to himself, _their forward units have found us, it won't be long until the main force catches us._

"Hurry up!" He shouted, but they had already picked up their pace, knowing full well what he had just realized. A few seconds later another series of shots rang out behind him, the bullets whizzing past his head. Hawkins cursed and spun around, firing a quick burst in retaliation, and turned back around.

"Move, move!" He commanded and they began running with renewed vigor.

They turned a corner and Hawkins sighed in relief as he saw the drop ship, about three hundred meters away, waiting for them, "There it is, push harder!"

They ran past the buildings and were now out on the plaza, but the Helghast were right on their heels. More and more fire was pouring down on them as the majority of the Hig forces caught up with them. Hawkins' helmet display was flashing red, his suit informing him of several hits on his back, but the armor held; it was impervious to most small arms fire.

It was raining lead by now, bullets snapping through the air and others taking out chunks of concrete as the Helghast tried to take them down. They were less than sixty meters from the aircraft. Hawkins heard a ripping sound as the Higs opened up with their machineguns, a line of bullets raking the ground next to him. Hawkins heart stopped for a second as he saw a missile streak overhead towards the ship. The warhead went high, however, and skidded off the top of the drop ship.

"You better hurry up, Tempest!" The pilot said, his otherwise calm tone infused with anxiety, "I'm a sitting duck out here!

"We're almost there, just – incoming!"

Hawkins called out as he heard the familiar whistle of an artillery round. The shell landed behind and to the right of their formation, but the blast was enough to knock down him, Reeves, and handful of the ISA troops.

"Get up, get up!" Hawkins shouted, scrambling to his feet, dashing over to Reeves and pulling to his feet. "Get up or we're dead!"

* * *

He ran up the stairs two at a time, his training and physical conditioning allowing him to do it with ease. Soon, he had reached the sixth floor of the building; a good vantage point. He looked out the window at the escaping ISA forces.

* * *

Griffin reached the ship first. She jumped onboard and then pulled Tipton up after her.

"Come on, you're almost there!" She yelled, watching as the rest of the group ran to the drop ship. Aszmann was the next to arrive; she held out her hand and pulled him up. Vera was next and Griffin helped her up too. Mavik, Nolan, Reeves, the rest of the ISA soldiers, and then finally Hawkins all made it.

"All right, that's everyone!" Hawkins exclaimed, jumping into the ship, "Pilot take us out –"

"Wait!" Griffin interjected, "There's still someone out there!"

Hawkins turned to look and there was indeed a soldier lying out on the ground, waving desperately at them; they must have overlooked him in the confusion after the artillery had hit them.

"Watch my back!" Griffin told them and jumped out the door without hesitation.

"Damnit Griffin – covering fire!" Vera ordered. They began firing out the door at the Helghast on the edge of the plaza, taking them out with deadly efficiency to take some of the pressure off Griffin.

Griffin sprinted across the open ground to the wounded man. Her suit was going crazy as it detected hits coming in from every direction and she prayed that it would hold just long enough. She reached the soldier – the explosion had taken off his leg below the knee – and bent down to pick him up. She grunted with effort as she hauled him up and over her shoulders in a fireman carry.

"It's okay, I got you." Griffin assured him and began running as fast as she could back to the ship.

* * *

He saw them and aimed his high-powered rifle at the one carrying the injured ISA. He put his finger to the trigger and gently squeezed.

* * *

"Good job Griffin, now get your ass back here, now!" Griffin heard Vera shout anxiously over the radio.

"I'm coming, I'm coming!" Griffin answered, pushing her legs to move faster.

Suddenly a shot rang out, loud enough to be heard above the hundreds of other ones. Griffin fell to one knee as she felt a bullet tear through her right thigh.

"Ahh!" Griffin cried, "I'm hit, I'm hit!"

"Sniper!" Vera yelled, "Get up cadet, keep moving, you can make it!" Griffin pushed through the pain and forced herself back to her feet. She continued running.

"That's it, come on Griffin!" Vera encouraged her. She was breathing heavily now, the man on her back growing exponentially heavier by the second, but she summoned all her strength charged onwards to the ship.

* * *

"A little too low…" The sniper said calmly to himself, the mask on his face giving his voice a mechanical quality. He pulled back on the bolt and ejected the empty casing. He grabbed another large caliber round and placed it into the chamber. He smoothly rode the bolt forward, locking it in place, and took aim once again. "…just a little higher this time."

* * *

Griffin stumbled and nearly fell as another shot tore through her midsection.

"Griffin!" Vera exclaimed, "Come on don't give up!"

"I…I can make it." Griffin's told her over the radio. The pain searing through her was unbearable and her body wanted to just lie down and give up, but the adrenaline coursing in her veins sustained her and she kept running.

"I know you can, but you've got the hurry!" Vera urged her. Griffin was nearly as the ship.

"Pilot!" She heard Hawkins say, "I want this drop ship in the air as soon as she gets onboard!"

"Roger that." The pilot affirmed. The ships engines prepared for takeoff.

* * *

"Hmm…" The sniper hummed, "...maybe this will do it." He opened the chamber on his rifle and produced a much longer bullet; the extra gunpowder giving it the power to take down lightly armored vehicles. He loaded it into his weapon set his crosshairs once more on the staggering soldier.

* * *

"Here…take him." Griffin groaned, handing the wounded man up to Hawkins who then pulled him onboard. Griffin put her hands on the edge of the ship to pull herself up –

* * *

The sniper slowly exhaled and gently squeezed the trigger. The firing pin slammed forward and struck the primer on the round, which sent it flying at incredible speed from the barrel. The bullet sliced through the air. In less than a blink of an eye it reached Griffin. The bullet's ultra-dense tip punched through the back-plate of her armor, ripped through her body, came out the frontal armor, and put a hole in the hull of the drop ship.

* * *

Griffin's legs gave out as the third bullet struck her, but she held on to the ledge.

"Shit!" Vera cursed, "Help me pull her up!" Aszmann rushed to Vera's side and grabbed one of Griffin's arms. Together they hauled up Griffin's limp body and laid her out on the metal floor of the ship.

"Get us the hell out of here pilot!" Hawkins demanded. The ships door slid closed and the engines roared as the craft took to the air. The pinging of bullets on the hull faded as they ascended higher into the sky.

Griffin began to panic as the shock of being shot starting wearing off. She looked down and saw the large holes in her armor and the blood pouring out of them.

"Oh god…no, no, no…" She repeated, starting to hyperventilate. The squad rushed over to her side and began to go to work.

"Hold her still; we need to get her armor off!"

"Take off that helmet so she can breathe!"

"Hold her legs down!"

"Give me that med kit!"

The drop ship was a flurry of frenzied activity as everyone was hurriedly trying to save Griffin. Vera crawled over and gently lifted Griffin's head and rested it on her lap, removing her helmet. Griffin's blue eyes were wild with fear and she was muttering something, a prayer maybe, over and over again, a small stream of blood trickling from the corner of her mouth.

"Griffin." Vera said, trying to soothe her, "Griffin, I need you to calm down." Vera grabbed the sides of her head and held it still, forcing Griffin to look at her. Griffin looked up at her with her frightened eyes,

"Just look at me." Vera said, yanking off her own helmet and tossing it aside, "Just keep focused on me, you're going to be okay." She brushed the loose strands of blond hair from Griffin's sweaty forehead, "You're going to be fine." She seemed to calm down a bit and her rapid breathing slowed a little.

"There you go." Vera said, stroking her hair softly, "That's it, just breathe."

"It hurts…" Griffin cried softly, locking eyes with Vera.

"I know it hurts Sweety, I know." Vera soothed, "Just hang in there; we're going to take care of you." Griffin nodded shakily and closed her eyes.

"Here, help me pull this off!" Aszmann said to Reeves. They unbolted Griffin's front-plate and forcefully wrenched it off – a sudden hush fell over the drop ship. Vera looked away from Griffin's face and down towards her exposed torso and felt her heart drop. There were two gaping holes in her midsection, one off to the side and the other right through the middle.

Griffin noticed that everyone had grown quiet and was looking away from her, a few shaking their heads. She began to panic again, "What is it? Let me see!" She said, straining her neck to look down at her body.

Vera pushed her head back down, "No don't look; it's fine, you're going to fine." She looked anxiously over at Hawkins, who just shook his head and turned away – Griffin didn't have a chance unless they got to a hospital soon.

"Pilot." Hawkins voice was quiet but tight with tension, "Get this thing going as fast as possible, we need to reach base immediately."

"Let me see it!" Griffin cried, her voice rising in pitch, but Vera firmly held her down, preventing her from seeing her wrecked body. She struggled for a few seconds more but gave up, falling back on Vera's lap, tears in her eyes, "I don't want to die." She sobbed piteously, "Please, don't let me die." She begged Vera.

"You're not going to die." Vera tried to comfort her, wiping her tears away, "You're going to make it; you just have to be strong for me, okay?" Griffin sniffled and nodded in response. Vera reached for the girl's shaking hand and grasped it, firmly squeezing it.

Aszmann rolled out a length of white bandages and wrapped Griffin's torso. He put his hands on the wound – Griffin bawled in pain – and applied pressure, trying to stem the blood flow but the bandages quickly turned red and a pool of blood soon began to form on the ship's floor.

Vera looked down at Griffin and saw that her face had begun to lose its color. She wasn't trying to move anymore and her breathing had grown quiet and shallow.

"I'm sorry." Griffin said weakly, her face still stained with tears, "I'm sorry I went and got myself shot."

"Don't say that." Vera said softly to her, "You did good, you saved Berrick's life – see." She pointed over to the man that Griffin had rescued. He was sitting against the wall, a tourniquet wrapped just above his knee.

Griffin turned her head slightly to see him and smiled faintly, "Yeah, I guess I did, didn't I…they'll give me a medal for that for sure." She laughed feebly.

"Of course." Vera smiled, beginning to tear up, "They sure will."

Griffin laid back on her lap and smiled, closing her eyes. A few seconds passed and she didn't reopen them.

"Griffin?" Vera asked, alarmed, "Griffin wake up!" She slapped her gently on the cheek, "Stay with me!"

Griffin slowly opened her eyes, "Yeah…I'm still here." Her voice was almost a whisper now. Vera kept lightly slapping her to keep her conscious.

"We're almost there, just a minute or two more, but you gotta hang in there for me."

"Sure thing…" She answered, "…too easy…" She smiled meekly up at Vera.

"Too easy." Vera echoed and smiled back at her, wiping away a teardrop from her own cheek, "You got this."

"…Yeah…" She murmured, shutting her eyes again, "…too…easy…"

"…Griffin?" Vera asked anxiously after a few moments passed, nudging her again to wake her – she didn't respond.

"Griffin?!" She slapped her, hard this time, but she still didn't open her eyes.

"Oh Shit!" Vera muttered, moving to Griffin's side. She got on her knees and placed both hands on the center of the girl's chest and began pumping, trying to revive her. She pushed furiously but it was having no effect.

"Come on damnit!" Vera shouted. She tried mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, but it didn't seem to work either. She went back to compressing her chest, and then back to blowing air into her lungs. Vera grew more desperate with each passing second.

"Wake up Griffin!" She wailed.

"Vera…" Hawkins said softly behind her.

"Wake up, please!" Tears were pouring down her face.

"…Vera…" He said a little louder. She felt his hand on her shoulder, "…She's gone."

Vera stopped and turned toward Hawkins; he looked at her sympathetically.

"I'm sorry." He told her. Vera looked around the room at everyone else, but no one would meet her gaze, they all looked down when her eyes passed over them; except Reeves, who only shook his head slowly, sadly.

Vera looked back to Hawkins, and then to Griffin; she leaned forward cried on the dead girl's shoulder.

The aircraft sped over the Vektan skyline, and the ongoing battle below, to the ISA headquarters.

* * *

Author's note: Hey thanks for reading! I've been writing Warcraft fanfics and I'm excited to be working on something sci-fi. I'm really interested in the Killzone universe and I look forward to writing a story based in it. Hopefully you liked what I've put down so far, it was fun to write. Regardless if you did or didn't, have a great day.


	2. The Hard Way

"HQ this is Tempest…we were only able to save a handful of Lieutenant Nolan's platoon." Hawkins paused for a moment, trying to focus, "Requesting a medical team as soon as we touch down; we have multiple wounded onboard… and one KIA…ETA one minute, over." Hawkins finished and waited patiently for a reply; a long, drawn-out sigh come over the radio.

"Roger that Tempest, you did what you could, out." The voice answered wearily.

Hawkins crouched down and leaned against cold, steel wall of the transport and sighed. A respectful silence had fallen over the cabin – the only sound was the constant humming of the engines. He looked across the floor to Vera: she had her knees drawn up to her chest and her eyes were red from crying, she stared quietly at Griffin's body – she didn't look like she was taking the cadet's death too well and he hoped she would be okay. Soon, Hawkins felt the ship slowing down and he knew they would be landing shortly. The roar of the engines grew in volume as they reversed and kicked into over-drive; they needed to slow down to make it safe for landing. Hawkins felt a jolt as the craft touched down on the landing pad. The side doors slid open with a loud grate and he saw a team of medical personnel rushing across the landing pad towards them.

"On your feet." Hawkins broke the silence, rousing his squad, "Lets get these wounded off the ship, quickly!" The cabin became a bustle of activity as they hastily unloaded the injured. Hawkins grabbed the nearest soldier, helped him to his feet, and handed him to the waiting medical team. A pair of men gently grabbed the wounded soldier from the captain and placed him on a stretcher.

Hawkins turned to help the next man in line and saw Vera. She was still sitting down, with a withdrawn expression on her face. Before he could say anything to her, she suddenly slid over to the edge of the ship and dropped down onto the ground and began walking towards the main building. Hawkins sighed inwardly and helped the last of Nolan's platoon off the ship. He watched as they were carried off on stretchers.

"You have my thanks." Nolan said, walking up to Hawkins' side, "And the thanks of my remaining men…we'd have been dead if not for you and your team." Hawkins turned his head slightly towards him.

"You and your men did an excellent job today, holding out for as long as you did." Hawkins replied. "Me and my team…well, we're just happy to help." Hawkins paused for a moment; he saw Vera reach the main entrance doors of the complex and disappear inside. "You should probably go get that leg checked out lieutenant." Hawkins said, gesturing to Nolan's bleeding thigh.

"You're probably right." Nolan agreed, "I need to make sure my men are getting the proper attention they need anyway." He jumped onto the ground and winced a little. He turned to face Hawkins once more. "It was an honor captain, may we meet again someday." And with that he turned and began hobbling to the infirmary.

"Damn shame." Reeves said suddenly. He shook his head and looked down at Griffin's unmoving body. Azsmann kneeled down next to her and grasped one of the ID tags around her neck – he yanked it off the chain and offered it to Hawkins.

"I think Vera is having trouble dealing with this." Azsmann said quietly, looking up at Hawkins. The captain looked at Azsmann and then at the bloody piece of metal sitting in Azsmann's out-stretched hand. He reached out reverently picked it up. He ran his thumb over the front, wiping off some of the blood, and read it.

"Griffin, Elaine…" He whispered to himself. Hawkins sighed wearily and then looked at Azsmann, "Don't worry about Vera, I'll talk to her. Right now, you guys need to go to the armory and resupply – we need to be ready to leave at a moment's notice."

Azsmann nodded and stood up, grabbing Griffin's rifle as he did – she wouldn't need it anymore. They left for the armory and Hawkins watched them go. After a few seconds, a pair of soldiers carrying a stretcher walked up to the ship; they had come to get Griffin. Hawkins helped push as they pulled her limp body out of the ship.

"Hey, careful!" Hawkins shouted as one of the men almost dropped her.

"Sorry sir." He apologized, readjusting his grip on her legs for a better hold as they lowered her onto the stretcher. He watched them carry Griffin off and he said a short prayer for her – it was never easy losing a soldier, especially one so young and full of potential.

Hawkins exhaled loudly and allowed himself to relax for a few moments. He thought back and reflected on the outcome of the mission. All things considered, it had gone fairly well. While they had only managed to rescue just a few of the stranded soldiers, they would have all died if his team hadn't been there; and they took out a good number of Helghast in the process. Everything had gone relatively smooth until the end; it was unfortunate, but there was nothing he could do about Griffin now.

Hawkins removed his helmet and ran his fingers through his short, neatly-trimmed brown hair, surveying the now abandoned cabin. There was gore smeared on the metal floor and walls, and bloody rags lying discarded in the corner. The air smelled of gunpowder and death. He looked at the ID tag in his hand again – he would have to go find Vera and see how she was doing. But first he needed to report to command and find out what their next assignment was.

.

* * *

_30 minutes later._

Vera sat alone on a bench in the squad staging area, head in her hands. She stared gloomily at the floor, listening to the electric hum of the florescent lights overhead – she thought the sound oddly soothing. She heard the door open and turned her head slightly to the left, brushing her hair to the side to see who it was; it was Hawkins. He stood leaning in the doorway, arms crossed over his chest, not saying anything. Vera faced forward and continued gazing at the concrete floor.

"How are you holding up?" He asked finally, a hint of concern in his voice. He waited patiently for a reply.

"You know…" Vera said softly after a few moments, keeping her eyes downcast, "…Growing up I didn't have any siblings…It was always just me and my father." She paused, as if trying to find the right words, "I just…being an only child, I never got the chance to know what it was like to have a brother or sister...I didn't have anyone to stay up late and watch scary movies with…or to watch my back whenever I got into a fight at school." She laughed a little but it died quickly, "Or no one just to mess around with and get in trouble like kids normally do." She sighed, "I had friends, sure, but it just isn't the same…you know?" She suddenly looked over at Hawkins. He just nodded and remained quiet, listening to her every word.

"I guess what I'm trying to say is…is that I always liked to think of Griffin as…as…" She began to choke up and Hawkins saw her eyes begin tear up, "…as the little sister that I never had, and now sh – she's…" She trailed off and wiped away a tear; she took a breath and steadied herself, "She was my responsibility Hawkins, and I let her die..." She hung her head, looking defeated. Hawkins pushed himself off the door-frame and walked over and sat next to her. He thought for a moment before speaking.

"When you've been in this business as long as I have, you come to accept that people are going to die." He began, speaking slowly, thoughtfully, "That no matter how well you plan and execute a mission, there's always a chance that someone isn't going to make it back alive – it's just the nature of our job, and we have to come to terms with that." He pulled out Griffin's ID tag and looked at it once again, "I've lost many friends during my career, some were my peers and others were soldiers under my command...and I can tell you that it never gets any easier." He gently grabbed Vera's wrist and put the thin piece of metal on her open palm, "But you learn to live with it and move on, because that's what we do in this line of work...it's the only thing we can do." He paused for a moment, letting her digest his words. Vera lifted her hand and picked up the tag, turning it over and reading it.

"It's not your fault Vera, don't blame yourself. Griffin was a good soldier and she knew the risks when she signed up…she'll be missed by all of us." He said, putting a hand on Vera's shoulder, "We'll have time to mourn her later...but first, we still have a job to do." Vera nodded and sniffled and turned to face him.

"I know…I know." She said quietly, "It's just – I" Her eyes began to get wet again and her voice faltered.

"Vera." Hawkins said firmly, yet sympathetically, putting both hands on her shoulders, "Look at me; I need you to pull yourself together. We need you focused and I have to know that I can rely on you for this next mission." She blinked back the tears and nodded.

"I'm sorry…yeah I'm fine, I'm fine."

"Good." Hawkins said, patting her on the shoulder and standing up, "We're going to need you on this one…and don't be sorry, I understand." Vera just nodded again and took a deep breath the calm herself.

"We've got them on the run." Hawkins said, "The remaining Helghast forces are pulling back to the ship yards and digging in; they're making their last stand there and trying to use the transport ships to get off-world." He reached down and picked up Vera's weapon from the bench, "Command doesn't want that happen, so they're sending in every available unit to prevent the Helghast from escaping. They're cornered and desperate, they're going to fight tooth and nail for every inch of ground…it's gonna get real heavy out there." He tossed the rifle to Vera and she caught it, "You ready for this?"

Vera adjusted her grip on the weapon and stood up, holding it tightly against her body. She clenched her jaw and Hawkins mix of resolve and uncertainty in her eyes.

"I am." She answered, the tension audible in her voice.

"Then let's go, I've already briefed the rest of the team and our transport should be ready any second now." Vera walked over to her locker and opened it, placing Griffin's tag inside.

"Come on." Hawkins called, exiting the room.

"Coming!" She answered, but she lingered in front of her locker. She grabbed the door to close it but stopped when she saw herself in the mirror: Her jaw-length auburn hair was disheveled and messy, and her brown eyes had a sorrowful look to them. She noticed that she had a fair amount of blood splattered on her armor and her hands - most likely Griffin's. Vera quickly grabbed for her helmet with shaking hands and put it on. She felt a small rush of relief as the helmet locked into place, hiding her features; instead of the vulnerable and weak girl she had seen in her reflection, there now stood a strong, fearless soldier. She quickly closed the locker door and made for the exit. She walked out of the room, thinking of the coming battle, and tightened her grip on her weapon.

.

* * *

_15 minutes later._

"Go go go! Get the hell off the ship!" The pilot yelled over the radio, the words blaring in Vera's ears.

The aircraft swooped low, skimming just above the ground, and the armored side doors opened. The first man in line immediately took a bullet to the head, showering the interior of the ship with brain matter and splinters of bone.

"Get the fuck out!" Mavik grabbed the dead man in front of him and pushed him to the side. He jumped out onto the hard ground, immediately scrambling for the nearest piece of cover. Vera watched from the back as the rest of the soldiers onboard hastily dismounted. After a few quick seconds it was her turn. Just was preparing to jump, a Helghast rocket came streaking through the air and slammed into the ship's rear engine. The impact rocked the aircraft and knocked Vera off-balance; she tumbled face-down out of the drop-ship. She landed heavily on her stomach and the collision knocked the air from her lungs. Regardless, the adrenaline was already coursing through her body and she swiftly pushed herself up and began sprinting over to where the rest of the squad had taken cover. Behind her, she heard the tortured screams of the ship's engine trying to takeoff despite the enormous level of damage it had taken. She looked back in time to see it erupt in a fiery explosion. Having lost one of its engines, the crippled ship began to lose altitude and spin out of control. Vera reached her squad and slid into cover next to them.

"Shit…" She heard Mavik say. She looked and saw that everyone was transfixed on the dying aircraft. The doomed ship flew past them and crashed into the side of a building in a massive fireball, taking out an entire section of the structure. While it was unfortunate to lose such a valuable piece of equipment, there were hundreds more drop-ships clogging the air space, dropping off thousands of ISA soldiers to join in the assault. Between the roar of their jet engines and the endless reports of gunfire and booming explosions, Vera found it difficult to hear anything.

Currently they were hunkered down behind a large truck in the middle of a street. Vera had her back against the vehicle and could see a large wave of ISA soldiers coming up towards them; they began taking up positions on the other side of the road and moving into the buildings on either side.

"Okay." She heard Hawkins say, "That's our objective right there, come take a look Vera." She crawled over to where he was and cautiously popped her head over the hood of the truck.

"See it?" He asked, pointing off into the distance. Vera adjusted the magnification on her helmet and followed his finger; she saw it. It was the ship yards, about five kilometers away. The multi-tiered building dwarfed any nearby structures, and Vera could see that the transport ships were still in their docking bays. She could also make out people – they looked no bigger than ants – scurrying along the platforms and cat-walks; Helghast. They were no doubt prepping the ships for takeoff.

"I see it." She confirmed, "But we're going to have a hell of a time getting there." She added, observing the numerous obstacles between them and their goal. There was two whole city blocks directly in front of them. The Helghast had barricaded the street and turned nearly every building into a fortress. Past that, there was the city park. While it had once been lush with foliage and greenery, the Helghast had torn down all the trees and reshaped the landscape. The park was a killing field full of trenches, razor wire, bunkers, and heavy weapon emplacements. The worst part of it, however, was that there was no way past the Helghast defenses except straight through; the enemy had set up a three-hundred-sixty degree perimeter around the ship yard, so there was no possibility to flank them.

"Yeah I know, we're going to have to do this one the old-fashioned way." Hawkins said, sitting back down. Vera flinched as a bullet struck the hood of the vehicle, just inches from her face. She got down and sat next to Hawkins.

"So when is our air support going to get here?" She asked. Their orders were to wait until an airstrike to begin the attack. Right now they were just sitting here getting shot at.

"Should be any second now." Azsmann answered nonchalantly, tweaking the knobs on his scope, seemingly oblivious to the situation. "Ahh, there they are." He pointed up at the gray, smoke-filled sky. Just as he did, a squadron of ISA fighters blazed overhead with a deafening screech. They released their payload of missiles, firing directly at the Helghast occupied buildings and street blockade. The missiles flared a bright red as they blazed through the air towards their targets. In a blink of an eye they closed the distance and smashed into the Helghast defenses. Great clouds of smoke, fire, and flying debris erupted from the impact sites, lighting up the immediate area with a blinding light. Even at this distance Vera could feel the concussion waves from the blasts, and she couldn't help but admire the impressive display of firepower. The dust hadn't even begun to settle when another group of fighters flew by, strafing the enemy positions once again. Another salvo of missiles and heavy weapon fire rained down upon the enemy positions. This attack seemed even bigger than the last, and one of the buildings began to buckle as it was rocked by explosion after explosion. Vera saw the surviving Helghast trying to escape the building as it began to tip over. It began falling slowly at first, the support columns and beam creaking and groaning, and then picked up speed as it fell towards the other fortified building. The toppling structure crashed into the other one and they both went down.

No one said a word as they took in the amazing scene of destruction before them. After a few seconds, Vera heard someone nearby let out a long, drawn-out whistle.

"Damn." Reeves grumbled in his low, baritone voice, "Well that makes things easier." Vera couldn't agree more: the entirety of the Heghast defenses had been effectively annihilated and the way to the park was now wide open.

"Let's get going." Hawkins said, getting to his feet. Vera glanced around and saw that the rest of the ISA troops had already begun to advance. Vera picked herself up and moved forward at a quick jog. Their squad moved up en masse with the other soldiers; everyone had their weapons up and ready to fire. Soon they came up to where the Helghast defenses had been; the building had fallen over the road and the air was still choked with dust, making it difficult to see. Suddenly, a Helghast soldier stumbled into view. He was obviously dazed from the overpowering airstike and he was wandering aimlessly and weaponless. An ISA trooper ran up to him and bashed him in the face with the butt of his rifle, knocking him to the ground; he then proceeded to fire a burst of bullets into his skull. They came across other similar enemy soldiers, too wounded or confused to offer much resistance, and they were put down mercilessly each time. Vera felt a twist in her gut as she witnessed each killing, but she ignored it, knowing that she could expect the same level of mercy from the enemy.

They reached the fallen building and began to climb it to get to the park on the opposite side. The loose rubble kept giving way underfoot and Vera was having a hard time moving up; it was like trying to walk up a steep sand dune. Eventually they reached the top and were immediately met with a wall of bullets.

"Fuck!" Vera yelled as she threw herself down and hugged the ground. A few of the other the other men were too slow and were cut to pieces. Fortunately there were still some pieces of wall jutting out of the rubble, offering a decent amount of cover. Vera crawled over to the nearest section of wall and got behind it; Hawkins soon came up next to her.

"Looks like it's time to start doing it the old-fashioned way." Vera stated. Hawkins nodded in agreement and surveyed the battlefield. There was about fifty meters between them and the park. They would have to go down the other side of the destroyed building and fortunately there was plenty of cover to be found. Past that, however, there was nothing but open ground for about another one-hundred and fifty meters to the closest Helghast trench. The enemy was dug in deep and ready to fight. There were five defensive layers of trenches, each with bunkers and machineguns placed at intervals along the length of the lines.

"Alright." Hawkins said, readying himself to run, "Let's do this…cover me." He sprinted down the face of the fallen building and slid behind the nearest wall. At the same time, Vera popped up over top of her own wall and squeezed off a few rounds towards the enemy. The rest of the ISA followed suite and opened fire; the air was now alive with bullets and tracers as the fighting intensified. To make it to the bottom, they would all have to bound from cover to cover, and provide suppressing fire for each other.

Vera fired for a few more seconds and emptied her magazine. She got down to reload and found that Azsmann was next to her.

"Azsmann." She said, reaching for another magazine, "Stay up here take'em out; prioritize the ones manning machineguns and heavy weapons."

"My pleasure, ma'am" He answered calmly. He crawled over to the side of the wall and positioned himself so that just his weapon and the right side of his head were exposed, trying to make himself as small a target as possible. Satisfied that he had her back, Vera took a deep breath and vaulted over the wall. She half ran and half slid down to where Hawkins was. He looked at her and they nodded at each other.

"Cover me!" Hawkins shouted as he threw himself over the top of the wall. Vera jumped up and sent off a spray of bullets; she didn't usually go fully automatic, but it was handy in situations like this. She got back down and looked to her right to see how everyone else was doing. They had lost a few more men but Vera was surprised that they hadn't lost more. She could see Reeves and Mavik working their way forwards in the same fashion as her and Hawkins.

Vera turned her attention back to the fight and peered from behind cover. She noticed some activity going on at one of the Helghast's fortified positions. She strained her eyes and saw what appeared to be an anti-aircraft weapon, and it was slowly turning to face them. Vera quickly got on her radio.

"Azsmann, I need you to take out that heavy weapon. It's roughly two-hundred meters away, two-o-clock." There was a hint of stress in her voice; if that gun opened fire it would rip them to shreds.

"Roger…firing now." Azsmann relaxed voice came in on the radio. Vera looked over the wall again and watched the team working the weapon. They had just got the gun properly positioned when one's head violently snapped back as Azsmann put one through his brain. The other man hurried and got behind the weapon to fire it, but he died before he could do anything, a large caliber bullet ripping through his chest. Vera let out a little sigh of relief now that that threat had been eliminated, "Good job Azsmann." She got up and ran from behind cover to rejoin Hawkins; it took her a few seconds to realize they had now reached the outermost edge of the park.

"What are we going to do now?" Vera asked, cautiously peeking over the wall, but a hail of bullets forced her down, "This assault is going to be stopped dead in its tracks if we're stuck here too long." Hawkins raised his weapon and fired off a few blind shots.

"We've got some incoming armor; they should be able to help us punch through the perimeter defenses." He said, loading another magazine. Vera nodded and took the few moments of down-time to take inventory of the situation. She checked herself and found that she still five magazines left, plus the one already loaded in her weapon. She looked around and saw that a large number of ISA had reached the edge with them, including Mavik and Reeves. She glanced up and there were still dozens of men coming over the top of the fallen building; she could see Azsmann still up there, methodically picking off Helghast with his sniper rifle.

Just as she was about to ask how much longer until their support arrived, an allied tank came rumbling around the street corner to their right, its heavy tracks tearing up large chunks of pavement. Its turret immediately traversed to face the enemy lines; the tank was lost in a cloud of smoke as it launched its rockets. The barrage hit a Helghast bunker and blasted it to pieces, sending large pieces of concrete sailing through the air. The tank then opened up with its co-axial machinegun and laid down a blanket of heavy suppressive fire. Behind the lead vehicle followed an entire convoy other tanks and fighting vehicles. The line of ISA armor pulled up and stopped in front of them. They positioned themselves in the middle of the crossfire, effectively blocking nearly all small-arms fire and protecting the ISA infantry.

"Perfect timing." Hawkins said, sounding pleased. He turned to Vera, "Ready for round two?"

"I can't wait." Vera answered blandly, her habitual sarcasm surfacing.

Hawkins let out a chuckle and stood up. "Come on, let's go." He laughed, patting her on the shoulder. Vera hastily got to her feet and followed Hawkins to the convoy.

The top hatch on one of the tanks opened and a man emerged from the interior.

"Captain Hawkins?!" The man yelled, trying to be heard above the roar of cannon-fire and tank engines.

"Yeah, that's me!" Hawkins shouted back, running up the side of the tank with Vera alongside, "And you must be Colonel Bingham!"

"Aye, that's me." Bingham answered loudly and tapped the hull of his tank, "And I'm the commander of this here convoy." Bingham was an older man with gray hair and a burly mustache. Vera noticed that he wasn't wearing any protective gear and was sitting in plain sight of the enemy; he was either crazy or brave.

"We're going to push forward give those Hig's a good dose of heavy metal." Bingham said, "You and the infantry can follow behind us, we'll provide you cover 'til we reach the first defensive line."

"Sounds good to me sir." Hawkins agreed, giving him a thumbs up.

"Alright, lets get rolling then!" Bingham yelled, lowering himself in back down into the tank and closing the hatch over him. The tanks' idling engines kicked up as they shifted back into drive; thick, black smoke poured from their exhaust pipes. The heavy vehicles began moving forward, all weapons firing. The ISA infantry ran from the safety of their cover and fell into position behind the tanks.

Vera was directly behind the lead tank, and she could see it's entire body shake everything it fired it main gun, sending shell after explosive shell into the Helghast lines. While the tanks offered better protection than nothing, they were still very exposed out here. The men on edges were being picked off and they losing soldiers every second; they needed to reach the first line soon. Vera had been counting her steps since they started, and she had counted about one-hundred and then so far - they should be reaching the first trench soon. Vera closed her eyes and mentally prepared herself for the close-quarters, desperate fight that was about to come.


End file.
